Barrenwort
Epimedium sp.
Epimedium · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 2 April 2026
Spring woodland flowers on wiry, almost black stems, hanging like a row of small lanterns. Barrenwort is a plant of the woodland floor of Europe and Asia, and it spreads slowly into dry shade under trees, which is difficult ground for most plants; it is grown as much for the bronze-flushed new leaves as for the flowers.
The old name comes from a mediaeval belief that the plant prevented conception. In China the same genus is called yin yang huo and has the exactly opposite reputation - one plant, two cultures, two contradictory superstitions.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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